


Date Night's Cancelled (Again)

by frankcastlesfemfeb (Deathtouch)



Category: Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: 5+1 Things, Avengers emergencies, Candles, Chinese Food, Cute, Dates, Dating, Domestic Avengers, F/F, Fun, Happy Ending, Hotels, Memory Loss, Sick Character, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-11
Updated: 2015-11-11
Packaged: 2018-05-01 04:59:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5193194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deathtouch/pseuds/frankcastlesfemfeb
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Femfeb 2014 | Fanfic<br/><i>jessmiriamdrew asked:</i> carol/jess, they just want a date where they're not interrupted by dinosaurs or other world-wrecking things. thanks!</p>
<p>or The Five Times Bad Luck Ruined Carol and Jess’s Date, And The One Time It Didn’t.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> unbeta'd! all mistakes are my own.  
> this fic references events from kelly sue's runs on avengers assemble and captain marvel.   
> you don't have to have read those comics to enjoy this fic, but it doesn't hurt!

“I got us a reservation at that new steak place.” Jessica said, instead of hello, as she came in through the front door. 

“…You did?” Carol lifted Chewie from her lap and placed the cat on the floor. She was actually kind of amazed. That place had only been open for a week, and the novelty was still drawing huge crowds every night. Carol had figured they would get around to going eventually, when the newness wore off and the place was less packed, but she didn’t mind the surprise.

“I did. I mean, it’s at seven, but I still got it.” Jessica confirmed, reaching down to give Chewie’s head a scratch as the cat came over to her.

“Seven?” …It was already six forty five. Carol scowled. “Am I going to have to fly us there?”

“Well…” Jessica stood straight, and smiled an especially guilty smile. “…I mean if you want to be on time. Yes.”

“Let me guess.” Carol was already walking into the bedroom to find clothes. “If we’re not there on time they’ll give away our table.”

Jessica shrugged “Oh you know. Maybe.” Yes. The answer was yes. 

It was lucky for the two of them that Carol could get ready so quick. Her hair was already done up in a hawk, and maybe that wasn’t formal enough for the place they were going, but there was no time to change it. She just narrowly found something nice to wear in enough time. When she was out of costume she was usually a jeans and t shirt kind of girl. Tonight she made an exception, and under her heavy coat and scarf she had something more along the lines of business casual on.

When she emerged from her bedroom she went to give Jess a kiss. “It’s so cute you set up a date for us, I’m not even mad I have to fly.”

“Oh no.” Jessica tensed. “You said the thing.”

“The thing?” Carol took her girlfriend’s hand and led them out the door. They were already cutting it close, they really didn’t need to stand around and chat. “What thing?”

Except Jess was dragging her feet a little. “Date. You said date.”

“Please. This isn’t going to be anything like last time, okay? Or. The last three times. And the word ‘date’ isn’t cursed.” 

Carol pretended not to notice as Jess knocked on the nearest thing made out of wood; the door frame to a neighbor’s apartment. Poor guy probably thought he had visitors. Carol just kept tugging Jess along, down the stairs and out the door to the side walk. She swept her girlfriend up off her feet and they hit the brisk air outside. They shot up into the sky, going in the general direction of the steak restaurant. 

Except when they landed it wasn’t to a find a dinner crowd, or an open table with the maître d’ calling their name. It was The Brood. Again. It was like the third time this month! Weren’t they sick of getting their asses handed to them yet?

The steak place was smoldering wreckage at this point.

Carol barely touched her feet to the ground when Cap came running up to them, shield in hand. “Captain Marvel, Spider-Woman, we need your help.”

“Of course you do.” Carol sighed, mostly annoyed that she had to fight in her nice clothes. Not to mention now she wasn’t going to get a steak dinner

“This is your fault.” Jessica said, nudging her. She had her costume on underneath her clothes, and despite the cold she tossed off her coat so she could better fight. “You’re the one who said date!”


	2. Chapter 2

“Woah.” Jess put her keys in the dish, and dropped her bag by the door, avoiding the candles nearby. 

Carol’s whole apartment was glowing with warm light, candles covering every surface. Candles across the dining room table. Candles in the window sill. Candles on the tv stand. Candles on the counter. Candles on the coffee table. Candles, candles, candles. Some were spilling with wax, wicks burning low, others still tall and proud. Despite so many of them being lit, the lights were all out, so the apartment was dim.

Through the low light Jessica found Carol waiting for her on the couch, dressed up in a black bra and panties, all lace and frill. Her hair was tied up, pinned to her head, showing off her long neck.

“What is all this?” Jess asked. Not that she was complaining. She just wasn’t expecting… “I didn’t even think you owned this many candles.”

“I thought we could use a romantic evening.” Carol said, stressing the last two words. 

“Ah.” Jessica smiled. “Okay. Not a date, a romantic evening.” She could get behind that.

As if on cue a noise thundered from outside, louder than a bomb, like a wrecking ball had dropped. Or, more like twenty. A quake shuttered the building. Jess startled, and Carol sat up straight. They paused, both waiting, and the sound of police and fire truck sirens slowly made their way up the block.

“We probably don’t need to see what that was.” Jessica said, making the executive decision to skip the emergency and stay in instead. The police could handle it. She was already walking to the couch, leaning in to give Carol a kiss. 

Jess’s phone buzzed in her pocket. The official avenger business alert tone.

Fuck.


	3. Chapter 3

“Maybe he’ll be by the pool.” Jessica said, pointing to the brochure. 

“Jess, no.”

“Or maybe he’ll be by the tiki bar. We should definitely check by the tiki bar.” She turned a page, pointing to the picture of a thatched hut with happy smiling waiters boasting coconuts with colorful crazy straws sticking out of them, and tiny umbrellas. “Ooo Carol, this is our best lead. The tiki bar.”

“No.” Carol shook her head. She was spread out on the hotel bed, laying on her back, staring up at the ceiling. 

“C’mon, Carol. Bruce doesn’t actually need us.” Jessica groaned. A five star hotel in a tropical vacation spot, with three pools, a private beach, and a tiki bar and Carol didn’t even want to leave the room. “He only invited us because he knows how little alone time we’ve had lately.”

Carol turned over, scowling. “I wonder why.”

“Don’t be mad that I told him.” Jess said, abandoning the brochure. “You tell Steve everything.”

Carol relented a little. She did tell Steve a lot, but she wasn’t going to support this little fun time beach adventure. “Do you remember what happened the last time you went with Bruce to find a missing colleague of his?” She asked.

“Oh. You mean when Hulk and Tony got naked?” Jess asked. Grinning. She flopped back on the bed beside Carol and inch wormed up the sheets so they were face to face. She planted a cute kiss on Carol’s nose. “How about we get naked this time instead.”

Carol was trying not to smile. “Jess, no. I’m serious. Something bad’s going to happen.”

“No. C’mon. All that curse stuff is back in New York. We’re free from it all the way out here.” Jessica told her. She knew it sounded ridiculous, but at this point she was willing to make up any ridiculous story to get around the fact that their dates were, in fact, totally cursed.

Carol thought about it, and maybe it was the allure of coconuts with tiny umbrellas but she eventually gave in. “Okay. But it’s not a-“ she mouthed the word ‘date’. “We’re on a mission. An Avengers mission. We’re looking for Banner’s friend. That’s all this is.”

Jessica nodded her head. “Of course.”

“We should probably look for him down on that private beach, huh?” Carol cracked her first smile.

“Probably.” Jessica nodded, smiling back.

“I’m just going to grab my phone, alright? In case he needs to get ahold of us.” Carol said, digging for her cell in her bag. She didn’t get the best reception out here, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

“Hey I think there’s a view of that beach from the window if you want to scope it out first. Find the best spot to sunbathe.” Jessica was already moving to the window. She pushed the curtains aside, and squinting against the bright sunlight to see what she could see.

There was a message blinking on Carol’s phone and she frowned when she opened it. Of course it was their luck that Bruce would have already found the guy. He was probably all ready to fly back home. She lifted the phone to her ear, and let the message play, hoping for the best but expecting the worse.

But it was worse than she even expected. “Oh god. Jess. Bruce he’s in trouble.”

“I know.” Jess sighed, turning away from the window. “The Hulk’s out there tearing up the tiki bar right now.”

Well. 

It was official. 

The curse followed them everywhere, and now they weren’t even allowed to mouth the word ‘date’!


	4. Chapter 4

“This is kind of nice.” Carol said, stroking Jessica’s black hair.

“For you.” Jess groaned. She turned her head, burying her face in Carol’s lap, hiding from the bright light of the tv.

Carol knew Jess was sick, and she felt bad about that, but she honestly couldn’t remember the last time the two of them had been alone together like this. For Carol it was a chance to sit back and relax in bed, and simply enjoy the company of her significant other. 

She let Jess curl up with her head in her lap, and she worried about how warm her forehead seemed, and offered to get up and get pain killers time and time again but Jess shook her off. She wanted to lay in the dark. Carol let her.

They had the tv on. Some Segal movie on TNT with commercial breaks at the worst moments and impossibly lazy fight scenes. It seemed like the light was bothering Jess, though.

“Hey. You want me to turn this off?” Carol asked.

Jess just groaned. She was so warm. Burning like a radiator. Carol ran a little hot herself so when someone else felt warm in comparison she noticed.

Carol stroked her hair a little more, and decided to turn it off anyway. She already knew how the movie ended. 

“I’m sorry I’m sick.” Jess croaked, guilty like it was all her fault Carol was missing some fantastic spectacle on tv.

Carol wasn’t having that though, she just shook her head and moved to bend down and give Jessica’s mop of messy hair a kiss. “Don’t be. I was serious when I said this was kind of nice. I know you’re sick, and that sucks, but I love having alone time with you. Especially when I get to dote on you.”

“Still.” Jess sounded like she was getting worse by the second. Her skin was so pale. “Don’t say the thing, okay?”

Carol wasn’t sure what to make of that, and was worried that Jessica’s brain might have been shorting out when she realized. Oh. A date. While this was nice, it didn’t quite compare to a date. Not really.

That was when Jessica pushed herself up on one hand and promptly vomited in Carol’s lap, spitting up the contents of her stomach.

Carol squawked in shock and surprise. 

This may have not been a date, but being ralphed on was definitely worse than the way their dates were usually interrupted.

“What, now can’t even be alone together?” Carol asked, practically shaking her fist at the non-existant force working so impossibly hard to tear them apart.

“I’m sorry.” Jessica groaned, struggling to get up out of bed, possibly to rush to the bathroom instead. Or just. Anywhere else.

Carol moved to help her. She didn’t even care that she had puke on her. Jess being comfortable and safe was so much more important. “I’m not going to stand for this.” She said, solemnly. “I don’t care if the universe is trying to separate us. I’m sticking this sickness out with you, baby.”

Jessica coughed and offered a weak smile. “How romantic.”

Carol continued helping her from bed. “You’re damn right.”


	5. Chapter 5

“Okay, break time.”

Jessica put a pair of plastic bags on the counter, the both of them identified by big yellow and black smiley faces on the side. Inside were noodles, rice, teriyaki chicken and Mongolian beef all stuffed into take-out boxes just waiting to be eaten. Jess started pulling boxes from the bags, opening them, letting the smell of delicious, greasy, Chinese food convince Carol instead of trying to win her over with words.

“I can’t stop now.” Carol resisted. She had her arms folded over her chest and a dire, impossibly serious look on her face. She had been slaving over her plan to fight the newest looming alien race threatening to take over the earth for hours. Literal hours. 

“Okay.” Jessica shrugged. “But I’m just going to eat all of this then.” 

Carol glanced over her shoulder offering a ‘yeah right’ face, but she caught sight of the noodles on the table and hesitated. She lasted one more second or two before giving in and abandoning her plans.

By the time Steve walked in on them, coming to check on Carol’s progress and see if she needed any help, Carol and Jess were sharing one chair and one carton of rice, trying to feed each other with wooden chop sticks. Mostly they were just getting rice in each other’s hair. But Carol’s stress had diffused into giggling laughter and the break was such much needed relief that she didn’t even try and stifle herself.

“What is this?” Steve laughed. “Some kind of date?”

Carol and Jess both went stiff. 

“Oh god.”

Steve stilled too, suddenly horrified by their reaction. “What?”

“Oh no. No, Steve.” Carol put her face in her hands and honestly could have cried. He said it. He said the thing.

“What?” Captain America never looked so helpless or clueless in his life. 

Over his shoulder Jess saw, out the window, a looming ship breaking through the clouds. Something ominous and dark. Her stomach dropped. 

“Incoming.” She warned, and she barely got the words out in time…


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> +1

“Will you go on a date with me?”

Carol paused, standing stock still. She turned to look at Jessica, a nearly blank expression on her features. “Excuse me?”

Jessica’s heart dropped. She felt a little sick. “I… it was just… an experiment. Forget it.”

“I thought you said we were friends?” Carol prompted. “Were we not? Were we something more?” She narrowed her eyes then, almost suspiciously. Why would Jessica lie to her? Things were complicated enough without anyone lying.

“It’s hard to explain.” Jessica muttered. This idea was stupid. She turned away. 

Carol caught her by the arm, eyebrows furrowed. “Try.”

Jessica should never have said anything. “…We were together. You and I. Kind of. I mean, none of our dates ever worked out.”

Carol didn’t understand. 

Jess supposed that was kind of a vague thing to say. “I mean, being an avenger doesn’t afford much alone time. There was always the next emergency. We just kept having all this bad luck… no matter what happened…” Jessica was trailing off. 

Her heart was aching. 

She missed Carol so damn much. She would take a million and one ruined dates. She would give up ever having a real date again. If she could just have Carol back. Carol. The Carol with all her memories intact, and a genuine smile. The carol who kissed Jessica when she was sick, and surprised her with candle-light, and stroked her hair when she was sad. 

Jessica took a deep breath, willing herself to continue, talking without thinking. “I just… it’s a clean slate now, you know. With you. I thought our bad luck might be gone. It… it’s stupid of me. I’m sorry.”

“Let’s do it.” Carol said. Earnestly.

Jess glanced up, not even realizing she’d dropped her gaze to the floor until she found herself lifting her chin. “What. Seriously?”

Carol smirked. “Yeah. I’ll go on a date with you.” 

Maybe it was something in Carol, deep inside, that could still sense how meant to be they were. Or maybe it was Jessica’s heartfelt admission that they had a relationship stronger than friendship. Or maybe it was the new Carol taking a chance. It didn’t matter. They were going to do this now. For real.

Jessica was so surprised, she didn’t know what to say. She didn’t even know if she really even wanted this, she just… she had to ask. She wanted to see if the curse was broken.

“I know this great steak place.” She suggested, smiling. “It’s just been remodeled. Or. Rebuilt technically. I think you’ll like it.”

Carol nodded, seeming surprisingly open about the whole thing. “Have we been there before?” she asked.

“Almost.” Jessica smiled.

This time, they were actually going to make it to dinner…

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!   
> feel free to comment here or chat me up on tumblr http://frankcastles.tumblr.com/ask  
> if you have any marvel femslash suggestions, please keep me in mind next february! :)


End file.
